Turning Around From Burnout - A Full Circle

It often takes multiple episodes of burnout to realise you are even in one or have experienced several.This piece will be about making that gradual turn towards eudaimonia -state of internal balance where actions result in good health, happiness and prosperity - a flourishing and wholesome wellbeing.

In the midst of burnout

I found myself in a multi-burnout situation for several reasons, some of which I have already alluded to in the first blog. My work-life balance was sub-optimal, my teacup was almost empty due to lack of quality time spent with my partner and family.

Another factor contributing to burnout was the strong business culture at the clinic where we were encouraged to convince clients to come in for a greater number of sessions than I felt was necessary for cost-effective treatment. High quality care was still a priority outside of the business tactics but as a clinician getting people better with less than six sessions, this was not the ideal . Thus, I was not hitting the key performance indicators set by the clinic.

This work philosophy slowly depleted my teacup by being an additional stressor amongst the other factors contributing to burnout.

This numbers driven work culture was a major contributor to burnout because the pressure was stressful and the culture was in direct conflict with my heartfelt ideals and integrity as a health practitioner.

At the peak of the multi-burnout, my physical and mental symptoms were at their worst. I was exhausted and looking for a way out of the job I had been in for only a year. I was searching and considering any new job that I was qualified for from previous experience and qualifications, even though I left those areas pre-physio studies for very good reasons. Frantically trying to find the next ‘better’, ‘improved’, ‘balanced’ job... that desperate search for an exit strategy was a clear sign of burnout and reflected a need to re-assess and reshape my response to daily stressors.

What triggered the turn around?

As corny as it sounds, yoga saved me during this time. I attended a two day therapeutic yoga course and came out of it feeling calm, centred...light. I remember clearly making the decision to get my head and body back on track before jumping ship from my current job. I decided I needed to have clarity in my decisions and be ‘all there’ otherwise, for all I knew at the time, I could be jumping from one sinking ship to another!

What strategies helped?

Setting time limits

The first and most important strategy was setting a time limit on how long I was going to commit to the current job whilst working on my internal balance. Setting a time limit for change within the internal and external environment means that whatever circumstance you are in now is temporary. Things will pass, you know you won't have to endure these circumstances forever. I gave myself until the end of the year to get myself back on track so with a New Year approaching, I would have a clear head to make decisions. My rationale was if I worked on my internal dialogue/mental state and this was at its most optimal, then if the work situation was still impeding my mental state by years end, then I would know that exiting was the appropriate response.

Self care

The second aspect was to do small and manageable self-care activities daily. Some examples were reading a few pages from a book, mini online yoga sessions, journaling or letting myself do ‘nothing’ because it’s okay to not have to tick things off a list every day. Admittedly, making my self-care activities a daily habit was difficult at first. All I really wanted to do was sleep until the next shift dawned but I tried to at the very least do one small thing before work. This way I had chosen to do one small thing for myself and I was not just giving all my energy to the demands of work.

Re-setting thought patterns

Another strategy I started was changing my internal dialogue. My head was permeated with negative circular thoughts about work during my days off and during rostered hours. I made a lot of mountains out of mole hills. One of the most useful articles I read during this time was about journaling and how to make it therapeutic. The article brought an ‘‘a-ha’ moment, making me realise my journal was awash with the same negative thought patterns daily with no reframing or reassessing of perspective. So, then I started to write in my journal and reframe the internal dialogue. Some things I focused on was whether the situation was truly 100 percent ‘bad’ or finding the positives amongst my gloomy thoughts. Did I really hate all aspects of work? Reframing allowed me to see that I could manage, that many other people experience work challenges and that there are silver linings amongst gloomy clouds.

Self talk

I also started speaking to myself, or as some call it, self-talk. On the way to work with the knowledge that the day was jam packed with clients and with anxiety welling up as I approached, I would ask myself, “Am I going to be attacked by a tiger?", "Do I need to activate my sympathetic nervous system, the flight and fight response?”. The answer was often no. Then I would reset my thoughts about the day - the busy work day would end in eight hours and I’d be able to handle it because my brain and body had the capacity to deal with anything coming my way. I would also express gratitude for having a sympathetic nervous system, as without one I would not be alive and capable of doing things I love, such as, hiking, running and chasing my four legged furry friend. Other times, simply remembering I was not defined by my feelings was a breath of fresh air - we often say “I am sad” when really You are You - I am [insert your awesome name]!

The full circle

What I learnt from this experience was letting go of how things should be and accepting the flow of events as a natural part of growing. By accepting the natural rhythm of events, and letting flexibility and adaptation flow, I was able to slowly turn around and head the other way to eudaimonia. In the midst of burnout, take your time, be honest and kind to yourself and to those around you to start feeling wholesomely well.